Brendan Savage | MLive.comFormer Red Wings' captain Nicklas Lidstrom does an interview with a journalist from Sweden while holding a poster that says "Thanks For Everything" in Swedish.

DETROIT – Here is some reaction to the retirement of Detroit Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom:

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock: "Just the way he spoke today, he just does things right. He's been a great great player, an even better person. It wasn't about what he said, it was what he did. He set a benchmark for all of us. To be around him is humbling because he does so many good things and does it without ego. He makes players want to be better players and he makes you want to be a better person. I thought Mr. I said it well, he's been a guy in our community and in our state that has been an example for everyone on how to play and how to live."

Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom: "We’ve been playing golf, tennis, some barbeques, hanging around, but we didn’t talk about (his decision) every day. Off and on we started talking about it. He was swinging back and forth. I told him if you have it in you play one more year, you’ve got to be honest with yourself. .. He’s been yes, no, no yes. He’s been back and forth. My wife has been asking me what he’s going to do and I said, ‘I have no idea. He’s all over the place right now.’ "

Holmstrom: "He’s my best friend and he took care of me my first year. He helped me get a car, a place. He showed me the ropes. He’s been a great leader taking over from Stevie (Yzerman). … All the driving back and forth to rinks for 15 years has been a lot of fun. Going out for dinners, stuff like that I’m going to really miss. He’s ordering the same food every time. He’s pretty boring that way. You hang out with a guy that long, you really enjoy it and that’s what you’re going to miss."

Ken Holland

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland: "I really thought at the 60-game pole this year when we were fighting for the Presidents' Trophy, that Nick was, in my mind a candidate for the Norris Trophy. Then he ended up with a hairline fracture in his (ankle). I’m not even sure he was 100 percent healthy when he came back, but he could withstand the pain."

Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi: "He’s s a tremendous human-being, a great teammate, a great father, a great husband. He was that guy in crucial times and in times of need that you looked at and you get that look from him in return like everything was going to be OK. He was that comforting father in that room."

Bertuzzi: "He’s just one of those guys that you couldn’t hit, and I tried for awhile and I finally got over it because you just don’t want to hit him. He’s that big of a deal and I had that much respect for him that there was no point in me going out of my way to do something ever though I couldn’t even get him if I tried.”

Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall: "Being around him on a daily basis, we've been very spoiled to be able to sit beside a guy like that and play on a team with him. Seeing him raise the Cup in 2008 was very special. But also when we scored the winning goal in Torino is '06 (for Sweden in the Olympic gold medal game) was also very special."

Red Wings forward Danny Cleary: "It’s a day of mixed emotions for a lot of people, not having him on your team, that consistency, but at the same time we should be happy for him. We should be celebrating. It’s been a great career. I’m just happy I got to play with him."

Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader: "It’s an honor to stand here and watch the press conference and have been a teammate."

Former Red Wings defenseman Larry Murphy: "For me, it was a tremendous opportunity playing with a guy like that (they were paired together from 1997-2001). Mr. Reliable, Mr. Consistent, he was the perfect defense partner. ... People that know the game know just how great he was. He wasn't a guy that was out there for the flash, he wasn't putting a show on for anybody, he was just going out there and getting the job done."

Murphy: "He didn't miss a lot of games, but I assure you he wasn't feeling 100 percent every time he went out there. But he had the ability to work through that and get his level of play. That's the consistency, to me, being an ex-player, is what really stands out. Being so great so often, I've never seen that from any other player."

Kris Draper

Former Red Wings center Kris Draper: "You knew it was going to come. Everyone talked and really wanted one more year out of him. I was spoiled to have played with him so many years day in and day out. He made all of us better, the way that he played and approached the game on and off the ice."

Former Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios: "His demeanor was really something. Because of the passion I played with, I got too high, too low. Nick kept it at an even keel. Watching Nick and the effect he had on players, not losing his composure, never panicking, I slowly but surely, like the rest of the team, caught onto that."

Former Red Wings forward Joe Kocur: "My favorite memory of him is his positional play. As great as he was talent-wise and determination and skill and everything else, he was never put in a bad position. Even when he didn't have the puck, he controlled where that puck was going. Just so much fun to watch him.''

Former Red Wings coach Dave Lewis: "You reflect back to the days he was drafted and brought in and the accomplishments he has achieved here individually and collectively as a team, winning the Stanley Cups and all the other awards he’s won. It’s something you only dream about as a coach or player to be around."

Red Wings radio play-by-play announcer Ken Kal: "Class. That’s another term you could look up in the dictionary and find his picture under. He’s an unbelievable athlete, an unbelievable player and a great human being. He’s like Ernie Harwell (the late Tigers broadcasting legend). You could never find any fault."

Lidstrom's wife, Annika: "Being away from our family for so long, especially with the kids. We're close to our families so that has been hard. That is the part I feel happy about, that we will be a real family even though we both will miss it a lot. … At the same time, we're sad that it's ending, too, because it's been a big part of our lives, too, and this has been a second home, the people around have been our family. It's going to be really hard."

Lidstrom's 16-year-old son, Adam: "It'll be good having him home all the time. It's going to be good having him come to all our games now. It's going to be better, him telling us what to do more and what not to do."